Zhutian: Starting from the Space-Time Merchant

Chapter 448 After the Northern Expedition succeeds, I want you to depose Liu Shan and install Liu Chen!
"The purpose of defending Jieting is not essentially to defend Jieting itself, but to defend the strategic objective."

"Tie down Wei's mobile army at Jieting, wear them down, and even devour them."

"Use this as an opportunity to cover up the achievement of the main strategic objectives."

"This is the true purpose of the Battle of Jieting."

Prime Minister Zhuge stood up and bowed to Lin Dao.

"Please teach me, Zihou!"

"Try this drink," Lin Dao urged. "It not only replenishes fluids but also provides sugar."

Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun, gazing at the bright orange color, took a bite.

"Hmm~"

"It really is sweet."

"It tastes somewhat like honey water."

"This sweet drink." Lin Dao wiped his mouth. "And the instant noodles, pickled vegetables, tea eggs, canned food, and other things we ate before."

“I can sell them to Shu at a discount or to the Han army. I can supply as many as they want.”

"Don't doubt my strength. The resources I can provide far exceed your imagination."

"General Wei Yan has been stationed in Hanzhong for many years and must know the strengths and weaknesses of Guanzhong."

"Leading elite troops and carrying these supplies through the Ziwu Valley to reach Chang'an City will not be difficult."

"When we capture Chang'an, we will cut off the rear of Cao Wei's reinforcements."

"Not only can we seize the Guanzhong and Longyou regions, but we can also wipe out Zhang He's mobile field army in one fell swoop!"

"If it reaches that point, then the Northern Expedition will have laid the foundation for success."

Prime Minister Zhuge was slightly moved.

In his view, capturing Guanzhong would be enough to declare the Northern Expedition a success.

But in Lin Zihou's eyes, it was just the beginning?

This person is either a born liar or a powerful individual with extraordinary abilities!
Prime Minister Zhuge smiled helplessly, "Would a hundred coins suffice?"

These things are so precious.

It contained flatbread, oil packets, salt packets, and even precious spices.

Tin cans filled with meat, glass bottles filled with honey, and strangely shaped eggs, etc.

If it were truly a matter of spending money to buy enough to supply the army, then even selling Zhuge Liang wouldn't be enough to cover the cost.

Of course, this is also a subtle test.

If a child were to walk down the street carrying gold, then many things would be unpredictable.

Lin Dao didn't say anything, but simply stood up and suddenly disappeared in front of Prime Minister Zhuge and Zhao Yun.

Without a doubt, both of them were startled.

"This... this method of invisibility?"

"A god-like being! He's actually a god-like being?!"

The next moment, Lin Dao reappeared, but this time he was carrying a huge travel bag.

Both Prime Minister Zhuge Liang and Zhao Yun were deeply shocked.

His expression changed drastically, and he developed a sense of awe towards Lin Dao.

After all, it was supernatural power appearing right before our eyes!

"Let's leave the city," Lin Dao called out. "Let's go to a deserted place outside the city and have a good talk."

He certainly wouldn't accept any money, much less be coerced.

In addition to the goods that come with sufficient profit, Lin Dao also has a lot of additional conditions attached.

He's not here to do charity!
There were many people waiting outside.

The group traveled out of the city by carriage or on horseback to a military training ground outside the city.

"Bring the armor."

"Get the iron armor! The strongest iron armor!"

Lin Dao looked at Prime Minister Zhuge and asked, "What is the range of the crossbow? How many paces does it take to penetrate armor?"

Without a doubt, this question concerns core military secrets.

Prime Minister Zhuge did not hold back, but spoke frankly: "A three-stone crossbow can reach 120 paces, can penetrate leather armor within 60 paces, and can penetrate iron armor within 20 paces."

"The five-stone crossbow is more powerful, but there aren't many of them."

"As for the ten-stone crossbow, it can reach four hundred paces."

Undoubtedly, the greater the tension of a crossbow, the more complex its manufacturing process, and the fewer crossbows it can be produced in.

Given the strength of the Shu Kingdom, it must have had very few crossbows with a power of five stones.

The Ten-Stone Divine Crossbow certainly existed, but it was more of a symbolic representation.

After all, its complex manufacturing process and difficult maintenance make it impossible to achieve widespread adoption.

“Four hundred units…” Lin Dao pondered for a moment, “That’s about six hundred meters.”

He instructed the soldiers to "place this armor outside the four hundred units, and embed wooden stakes into the ground to support the armor."

Others might be completely baffled, but Prime Minister Zhuge could roughly guess what weapon Lin Dao wanted to demonstrate.

Four hundred paces away, and they're still wearing iron armor? That's just too outrageous!
After the soldiers had positioned the armored vehicles at a safe distance, Lin Dao opened his travel bag and took out an AK assault rifle.

Proficiently perform procedures such as loading magazines, pulling the bolt, disengaging the safety, and adjusting the scope.

He rested the butt of the rifle on his shoulder, held it level with both hands, and aimed at the suit of armor four hundred paces away.

'Boom! '

'Boom boom! '

‘Dong-dong-dong! ’

The slightly crisp sound of gunfire echoed across the training ground.

Smelling the pungent smell of gunpowder and watching the shell casings falling continuously.

Prime Minister Zhuge and the others were puzzled, but they did not notice anything unusual about this strange thing.

Lin Dao ran out of bullets and instructed his soldiers to bring over the armor.

When everyone saw the armor riddled with bullet holes, they all paled!

"This—" Zhang Bao stared in shock at the hole in the back of the armor. "It's been pierced?! It's actually been pierced?!"

"What kind of crossbow is this? And how terrifyingly powerful is it?"

Such a terrifying weapon, never before seen, deeply shocked the people of Shu.

"Bring another suit of armor," Lin Dao instructed. "This time, place it two hundred paces away."

Another suit of armor was placed two hundred paces away.

This time, being closer, everyone could see it more clearly.

But Lin Dao put away his gun and took out an RPG from his travel bag.

He loaded the warhead, disengaged the safety, shouldered it, and aimed. After confirming no one was behind him, Lin Dao launched the rocket.

'Whoosh~~~'

After he shot it, he even gave himself a voiceover and shouted it out.

"RPG~~~"

The prediction was slightly off, but it doesn't matter.

The power demonstrated by the high-explosive bomb's explosion is sufficient.

Everyone was stunned by the thunderous explosion and smoke.

That's absolutely terrifying!
It was more terrifying than I had ever imagined.

"Those houses over there," Lin Dao pointed to a row of Shu army barracks not far away. "Are they usable?"

The Prime Minister Zhuge, still in shock, looked at him with a complex expression.

After a moment, he nodded and said, "Okay."

Without wasting words, Lin Dao picked up his travel bag and walked over, chasing away all the Shu soldiers who were watching the commotion.

Then they took out the explosives and placed them.

After lighting the fuse, Lin Dao ran out with his travel bag on his back, shouting, "Get away from here!"

“The farther the better!”

As the explosives detonated, a row of barracks was engulfed in smoke and flames.

Before he could recover from the shock, confusion, and panic, Prime Minister Zhuge saw Lin Dao walking towards him with a smile.

"Prime Minister, let's talk privately."

Back in the tavern in the city, Lin Dao sat facing Prime Minister Zhuge.

The usually composed Prime Minister Zhuge Liang now had a very complicated expression.

He knew very well that Lin Dao was demonstrating his strength to him.

Or rather, it's a protest.
This is clearly telling myself not to have any improper thoughts.

At this moment, Prime Minister Zhuge was not worried that Lin Dao could destroy whomever he wanted, nor that he could blow up the entire city of Chengdu.

But if this person were to defect to Cao Wei or Eastern Wu, then...
Why bother fighting then? Just surrender.

This shows that Prime Minister Zhuge did not understand the ways of the forest.

Even if Lin Dao were to seek refuge with the Duke of Shanyang, he would never seek refuge with Sun Jierui.

If you don't believe me, go ask those who traveled through the Three Kingdoms period: which one of them joined the Eastern Wu?
As for Cao Wei, if Cao Cao were still alive, there might be a slight possibility based on their shared interests.

If Lin Dao were to actually go now, he would only take Lin Dao's place.

As for mobilizing armored soldiers to surround them, they know the art of burrowing underground.

In the blink of an eye, the person was gone.

That's really something!
"Prime Minister."

Lin Dao bluntly stated, "Let's not beat around the bush."

"I can provide you with material support to help you succeed in your Northern Expedition and eliminate Cao Wei."

After all, Cao Wei without Cao Cao was no fun at all.

Prime Minister Zhuge immediately asked, "Can those items from before be sold?"

Lin Dao simply shook his head, "These are all for my own use."

"However, I can provide excellent armor and weapons."

"We have as many as you need; we can re-equip the entire Han army without any problem."

Prime Minister Zhuge asked, "Do we need to spend money to buy it?"

Lin Dao looked at him as if he were a fool. "Who would give it to you if you didn't spend money?"

"Moreover, there are additional conditions attached when I sell you something."

"You can choose not to buy, then I can go find other customers."

This is what Prime Minister Zhuge fears most.

He took a breath and said, "Please speak frankly about the specifics."

"First of all," Lin Dao said, taking out paper and pen and laying them out on the table to start writing and drawing.

"You need to pay for the supplies sold to you."

"I only accept gold, Shu brocade, timber, jade, precious stones, medicinal herbs, and the like."

"Of course, we'll definitely give you a discount on the price."

"If it's not enough, you can pay on credit."

Upon hearing that credit was available, Prime Minister Zhuge's eyes lit up.

Lin Dao interrupted his reverie, saying, "I'll charge interest on the loan."

"and."

Lin Dao looked at him with a half-smile, "I suppose the Prime Minister is aware that I have the ability to collect debts by force!"

Prime Minister Zhuge also smiled, but it was a bitter smile.

It's not just about the ability to collect debts with armed force; I'd believe you if you could destroy the entire city of Chengdu!

That sudden, terrifying explosion of fire and smoke was truly horrifying.

"can."

Prime Minister Zhuge immediately agreed, "Once the Han Dynasty is restored, the spoils of war can be given to you at a discounted price."

After these matters were settled, Lin Dao began to propose his additional conditions.

To obtain overwhelming material support, there must be additional conditions.

"Article 1."

As Lin Dao spoke, he wrote "Forbidden Buddhism" on a piece of paper.

Even with all his calculations, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang never expected that Lin Dao's first condition would be this.

At this time, Buddhism had already begun to spread in China, but it was still in its early stages and not as widespread as it would become later.

But it's the same for Lin Dao.

If it exists, it must be banned.

This is not based on personal likes or dislikes, but rather to help those who have been deceived.

It's a hundred times better to use the money you work so hard to earn to improve your life and treat your family to a good meal than to use it to pay for incense and other offerings and then be shoved away and looked down upon!
Prime Minister Zhuge was puzzled by this, but he didn't pay it any mind and immediately agreed.

"Second one."

Lin Dao raised his head, his gaze serious.

"After the Northern Expedition succeeds, I want you to depose Liu Shan and install Liu Chen!"

(End of this chapter)